You may not know this, but Texas ranks as one of the windiest states in the United States. In fact, three cities in Texas: Amarillo, Lubbock, and Corpus Christi, are some of the windiest cities in the nation. San Antonio isn’t too far down the list when it comes to wind, especially during those famous thunderstorms or during hurricane season. If you live in Texas and you own your home, you may want to have a wind mitigation inspection. Here is some information about what wind mitigation is and how to have a wind mitigation inspection.
What Is Wind Mitigation?
The idea of wind mitigation came about because of severe weather. Texas is affected by both hurricanes and tornadoes, as well as straight-line winds from thunderstorms. In areas of the country that can get high winds, wind mitigation may protect your property from damage.
This is important because the winds in Texas, especially during hurricanes, can be extremely high. For example, the highest wind gust from a hurricane hitting Texas was over 180 miles per hour. Tornado winds in Texas have been clocked at over 200 miles per hour.
Insurance companies love wind mitigation because it can save them money on homeowner’s insurance costs.
What Is Involved In Wind Mitigation?
If you want to have wind mitigation for your home, it can take place during two distinct periods of time. You can ask for wind mitigation to be added to your home while you are building it, or you can ask for wind mitigation to be added after the home has been built. Here are some examples of things you can do to mitigate the effects of wind on your home.
- Connections between the roof and the walls of your home. The roof can be attached to your home with stronger fasteners, such as single or double wraps, rather than nails. This makes the roof more difficult for winds to lift off the top of your home.
- Using more nails in the roof deck. The more nails that are used to make sure the roof deck (the plywood underneath your roofing materials) is secure to both the rafters of your roof and the trusses, the stronger the entire roof is.
- Using stronger roof coverings. There are building materials used for roof coverings, such as stone or metal, that resist wind damage more than other building materials, such as asphalt shingles. No matter what is used, the roofing materials should be secured to the roof deck with nails rather than staples because nails offer more wind resistance.
- Making roofing materials more waterproof. Many homes built in 2008 or later have a layer of waterproofing in between the roof deck and the roof coverings. This extra layer helps protect the roof from water damage if you lose shingles due to storms.
- Protecting the openings of your home with extra reinforcement, such as storm shutters, to prevent wind or water from getting in your home.
How Do I Know What I Have On My Home?
If you are currently building a home, you have time to implement some of these wind mitigation strategies. However, what if you purchased a home after it was already built? You can have a wind mitigation inspection done. Many roofing companies, such as Roof Fix in San Antonio, offer wind mitigation inspections to help you determine what else you can do to lessen the effects of wind in your home.
Companies that do wind mitigation inspections will offer you an inspection report that looks very much like a home inspection. Like other home inspections, most wind mitigation inspections are valid for a particular period of time, such as five years. An inspector will come and take a look at your home, especially the roof, the roof deck, and the connections between your roof and the roof deck. They will also want to see how you plan to keep water out of your home in the event of severe weather, such as hurricane shutters. If you have wind mitigation materials in place, you may be able to save a significant amount on your homeowner’s policy. If your home rates highly on a wind mitigation inspection, you could save between 5% to 55% on the wind/weather portion of your homeowner’s policy.
Conclusion
You may not think that a wind mitigation inspection is worth the cost, but if you get information about how to keep your home safer in the event of severe weather, it could save you thousands of dollars on both your homeowner’s policy as well as repairs or replacement costs for your home should high winds hit it. If you are in the San Antonio area and you want a wind mitigation inspection, we can help. Why not contact Roof Fix today, and let us get you on the schedule for a wind mitigation inspection?
